The Pulaski citizen. [volume] (Pulaski, Tenn.) 1866-current, 1887-10-27

would depart. saw woman near me,
With hand and arm twisted of rheuma-
ism, and her wrist was fiery with in
iiammation. and it looked like those cases
of chronic rheumatism which we have
all seen and sympathized with, cases be-
yond all human healing. At the preach
er's reiteration of the words: ''Will you
believe? Do you believe? Do you be-
hcve now" I heard this poor sick
woman say, with an emphasis which
sounded through the building: Il do be-
6eve.' And then she laid her twisted
arm and hand out as straight as your
arm and hand, or mine. If [ had seen
one rise from the dead, would not have
been much more thrilled. Since then I
believe that God will do anything in an
ewer to our prayer and in answer to our
faith, and he can heal our bodies, and if
Gun soul is all twisted and misshapen of
revenge and hate and infaned with sin
ful proclivity, he can straighten that also
and make it well and clean. Aye, you
viii not postpone till sundown forgive
ness of enemies, if you can realize that
their behavior towards you may be put
into the catalogue of the ''all things"
that ''work together for good to those
that love God. | have had multitudes
Of friends, but I have found in my own
experience that God SO arranged it that
the greatest opportunities of usefulness
that have been opened before me were
opened by enemies. And when, years
ago, they conspired against me, that
opened all Christendom to me as field
n which to preach the Gospel. So you
10
best interests, and compel them to draw
you on to better work and higher char
acter. Suppose, instead of waiting until
six minutes past O. clock this evening,
when the sun will set, you transact this
glorious work of forgiveness before me-
ridian.
Again: we ought not to let the sun go
down on our wrath, because we will
sleep better if we are at peace with every
body. Insomnia is getting to be one of
the most prevalent disorders. How few
people retire at 10 o'clock at night and
sleep clear through till in the morning!
To relieve this disorder all narcotics, and
sedatives, and choral, and bromide of
potassium, and cocaine and intoxicants
are used, but nothing is of more impor-
tance than quiet spirit if we would win
somnolence. How is a man going to
sleep when he is in mind pursuing an
enemy? With what nervous twitch he
viii start out of dreami That new plan
1or cornering his foe will keep him wide
awake while the clock strikes II, 10, 1,
2, 3, 4. l give you an unfailing pre-
scription for walsefulness: Spend the
evening hours rehearsing your wrongs
and the best way of avenging them.
Hold convention of friends on this sub
iect in your parlor or Office at s and
O'Clock. Close the evening by writing a
bitter letter expressing your sentiments.
Take from the desk or pigeon hole the
papers in the case to refresh your mind
with your evenings meanness. Then lie
down and wait for the coming of the
day, and it will come before sleep comes,
u your sleep will be worried quiescence
and, if you take the precaution to lie fiat
on your back, frightful nightmare.
Why not put bound to your animosity?
Why let your foes come into the sancti-
lies of your dormitory? Why let those
llanderers who have already torn your
reputation to pieces or injured your bust
ness, bend over your midnight pillow and
y
iGgs that God can offer-sweet, refresh
ing, ali inyigorating sleep? Why not
fence suit your enemies by the golden
bars of the sunset? Why not stand be-
hind the barricade of evening cloud and
say to them, Thus far and no farther?'
Many man and many woman is hav-
ing the health of body as well as the
health of soul eaten away by q malevo-
lent spirit. l have in time of religious
awakening had persons, night after night,
come into the inquiry room and get no
peace of soul. After awhile l have
biuntly asked her: lis there not some
one against whom you have a hatred
that you are not willing to give up?'
After little confusion she has slightly
whispered Eyes" Then l said to her:
"You will never find peace with God as
long as you retain that virulence.
A boy in Sparta having stole a fox
kept him under his coat, and though the
fox was gnawing his vitals, he submitted
to it rather than expose his misdeed.
Many man with a smiling face has
under his jacket an animosity that is
gnawing away the strength of his body
and the integrity of his soul. Better get
rid of that hidden fox as soon as possible.
There are hundreds Of domestic circles
where that which most is needed is the
spirit of forgiveness. Brothers apart, and
sisters apart, and parents and children
apart. Solomon says a brother offended
is harder to be won than 2 strong city.
Are ther2 not enough sacred memories Of
your childhood to bring you together?
! The rabbins recount how that Nebuchad-
nezzar son had such spite against his
father that after he was dead, he had his
father burned to ashes and then put the
ashes in four sacks and tied them to four
eagles necks which flew away in oppo-
site directions. And there are now
| domestic antipathies that seem forever to
have scattered all parental memories to
the four winds of heaven, How far the
eagles fly with that sacred ashes! The
hour of sundown makes to that family no
practical suggestion. Thomas Carlyle IN
his biography of Frederick the Great says
| the old king was told by ths confessor he
must be at peace with his enemies ii he
wanted to enter heaven. Then he said to
/ his wife, the queen: "Write to your
| brother after l am dead that ! forgive
/ HIM" Rolof, the confessor, said: ''Her
/ majesty had better write him immedi-
ately." No." said the king, latter
am dead; that will be safer" So he let
the sun of his earthly existence go down
/ upon his wrath.
Again; we ought not to allow the sun
set before forgiveness takes place, be-
cause we might not live to see another
day. And what if we should be ushered
into the presence of our Maker with a
grudge upon our soul? The majority of
people depart this life in the night. Be-
fore II O'Clock p. m. and 3 O'Clock a. N.
there is something in the atmosphere
which relaxes the grip which the body
has on the soul, and most of people en-
ter the next world through the shadows
of this world. Perhaps God may have
arranged it in that way SO as to make
the contrast the more glorious. have
seen sunshiny days in this world that
must have been almost like the radianct
Of heaven. But as most people leave the